By Liberty Lawn Emerald Ash Borer • Winter 0 Comments

Why Winter Can’t Save Trees From Emerald Ash Borers

Because we live in an area that has cold winters, we can often rely on these chilly temperatures to help us get rid of some annoying plant and lawn pests without treatment. But when it comes to the invasive emerald ash borer, this approach unfortunately does not work. While the cold may kill a few of the emerald ash borers in your ash trees, it will not kill all of them.

Emerald ash borers are a very sturdy tree pest. They burrow deep inside of trees before winter hits in order to hibernate. The insulation from the tree, plus their hibernation cycle, help them to survive throughout the winter. Exceptionally cold temperatures may kill weaker borers, or ones that are inhabiting smaller, younger trees. But the healthier the borer, the more likely they are to survive. This means that, after a particularly harsh winter, you may be left with only the toughest emerald ash borers. This can make it even more difficult to eradicate them during the spring, and that, if they are allowed to breed, they will produce even heartier offspring.

With this in mind, the best approach to preventing and treating these destructive pests is in watching your trees for signs of an emerald ash borer infestation. The signs are often the most noticeable during the fall and winter, when leaves have fallen which allows you to better see the state of the bark and branch attachments. Bark splitting, S-shapes under the bark of your trees, and increased woodpecker activity may all be signs of impending trouble.

If your trees become infested with emerald ash borers, it can take just two to four years for the tree to die if left untreated. In addiction, the borers can spread to neighboring ash
trees, quickly decimating an entire neighborhood.

If you’re concerned that your trees are showing signs of an emerald ash borer infestation, have them inspected immediately by our professional arborists. Schedule your appointment as soon as possible so that we can ensure your ash trees can be saved before the emerald ash borer infestation gets too far advanced.

By Liberty Lawn Tips and Tricks • Winter 0 Comments

Preparing Your Lawn for Winter

One of the best parts of summertime is a full, lush lawn of healthy grass. It is a great place for your family to spend time outside without having to leave the comfort of home. But once cold temperatures start coming in, it isn’t enough to just put the lawn chair and toys away. Now is the time to help get your lawn ready for the cold to make sure it comes back as healthy as possible come spring. Here are six ways that you can prepare your lawn for winter.

Know When It’s Time to Stop Mowing

In the fall, you should be mowing every 10 to 14 days until all of the leaves have fallen. This keeps leaves from preventing sunlight and water from getting to your grass, keeping it healthy for winter. It is also best to keep your lawn short, about .75 inches, which helps prevent fungus or molds from growing in a lawn that is too wet from fall storms. Once all of the leaves have fallen, stop mowing and don’t start again until warmer weather returns.

Don’t Forget to Fertilize

While most people only think of fertilizing during the spring in summer, right now is an even more important time to do it. Feeding your lawn before winter means that it has all of the nutrients it needs to get through the winter without damage.

Stop Irrigation

As temperatures drop, your grass doesn’t need as much water. It is important to stop watering, or reduce if the fall is long and warm. This keeps water from freezing on your grass in a sudden overnight temperature drop.

Build Your Compost Pile

With all of the leaves falling, and late season grass clippings, now is a great time to start your compost pile for the spring. Gather everything you need into one area, and pile them up. Add a little water to keep it moist, and turn it every few days, even through the winter. This will help everything to break down, providing you with the best fertilizer for yard projects next year.

Get Rid of Water to Prevent Mosquitoes

While mosquitoes are a summer nuisance, it is now that they lay eggs to hatch in the spring. Take a walk around your property and look for any pools of water, from flower pot saucers to water features, and dump them out. This can help reduce the mosquito population in the spring.

Leave the Snow Where it Falls

Many people’s first instinct is to remove snow from their lawn when they can. Instead, you should be leaving the snow in place on your grass and garden beds. This is because snow works to insulate your lawn from the cold winter air and harsh winds. Grass that is left uncovered might not grow as well in the spring, making your lawn look patchy and uneven.

If you have any questions about preparing your lawn for winter, we are here to help! Give us a call anytime with any lawn or landscaping questions you may have.

LibertyLawn@gmail.com / 402.423.0061

3810 Cornhusker Hwy, Lincoln, NE 68504 / PO Box 29442. Lincoln, NE 68529

By Liberty Lawn Winter 0 Comments

Drought Concerns Going in to Winter

Nebraska’s current drought conditions range from abnormally dry to extreme drought. This makes fall and winter watering extremely important. Homeowners often believe their landscape plants survived a drought year, but then dieback shows up three to five years after a drought. There are a few different ways that drought can affect your landscaping, including:

  • Cold Temperature Injury
    A lack of water creates an increased risk of winter desiccation and cold temperature injury. When a plant is dealing with drought conditions, it can mean the plant cells aren’t as full of water as they need to be. This can make plants less able to protect themselves from damage during colder weather, even when many are usually dormant.
  • Pest Attacks
    Drought conditions create more stress for trees and shrubs. This makes them more susceptible to attack by harmful pests like borers, canker disease and Verticillium wilt. And once these pests have taken hold of a tree or shrub, they can be difficult to treat when a plant is already stressed due to drought.

While most plants benefit from fall watering, the priority should be evergreens, newly planted trees and shrubs and younger woody plants. Soil needs to be kept moist to an 8” to 12” depth from the trunk/stems out to at least the dripline of trees and preferably well beyond. If plants are not mulched, a 3” to 4” deep layer of organic mulch, like wood chips, should be applied in at least a 4’ diameter ring around plants to conserve soil moisture. Winter watering may be needed in the absence of rain/snowfall. Water can be applied early in the day when soils are not frozen and air temperatures are above 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Irrigation Systems and Cold Weather

When you are watering during fall, make sure to disconnect hoses at night to prevent freezing of water trapped in the lines. Irrigation lines should be drained and prepped for winter. This will help protect your watering systems and components from freezing winter temperatures, which can cause damage to the system.

As always, we are here to help you with any lawn or landscaping questions you may have. Give us a call anytime!

LibertyLawn@gmail.com / 402.423.0061

By Liberty Lawn Disease • Tips and Tricks • Winter 0 Comments

Late Winter Means it’s Time for Disease and Insect Inspections

Making sure to inspect your trees and shrubs routinely for disease and insect problems is a pivotal part of maintaining their health. While you may think that you can only check for these issues during the warmer parts of the year, late winter is the ideal time to inspect for reoccurring or new issues on your dormant plants. There are a number of different concerns facing southeast Nebraska homeowners. Read on to learn about what you need to look for.

Oystershell scale

Now is a good time to check plants for evidence of Oystershell scale insects overwintering from last season. Oystershell scale can be found on many different shrubs and trees, the most common hosts for our area being lilac, cotoneaster, and dogwood, and injure plants by sucking out their sap. Scale insects can be easy to overlook because they do not look like a typical insect, and can build up to large infestations that dry out branches before they are even noticed. As adults, they become immobile by attaching themselves to twigs and growing a protective covering over themselves. To the untrained eye, oystershell scale appears to be a part of a branch.

There are two main types of oystershell scale. One type has one generation per year, and the second type has two. Identifying which your tree is afflicted with is relatively simple. If the scale on your plant is gray or banded, it will have one generation and the eggs will hatch in late May. If the scale is brown, it will have two generations, with the first hatch in late May and a second in late July or August.

In order to manage oystershell scale, timing of treatment is very important. During winter, homeowners can scrape off the scales to prevent eggs from hatching by lightly rubbing affected branches with a plastic dish scrubbing pad. It is also important to prune out and destroy heavily infested branches during this time. Once spring hits, you can spray the tree with horticultural oil to suffocate eggs and reduce hatching before the buds on the tree expand. Be sure to check the label on your oil before spraying, as some plants are sensitive to oil sprays and should not be treated.

For a few weeks after hatching, oystershell scale insects will remain in their crawler stage. During this period you can apply a labeled insecticide sprays. Insecticides labeled for control include horticultural oil, insecticidal soap, aseptate, bifenthrin or malathion. Some sprays require reapplication in 7 to 10 days, so be sure to check your label. If you expect a second generation to hatch, you can repeat the application again in August.

Magnolia scale

If your magnolia tree had scale issues last year, it’s likely that it will require further treatment this year as well. Now is a good time to inspect for signs of continuing infestation. This type of scale insect is a little different than oystershell scale, as it does not form the same hard outer shell when attaching to the tree. Instead, magnolia scale insects secrete a softer waxy substance as protection. And because they are much larger, they are also easier to identify. Right now is a great time to apply a dormant oil to affected trees, as this will help to eliminate overwintering nymphs.

From late August through the end of September crawlers will emerge, which is when you should apply a insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Adults are largely unaffected by any treatment. For small infestations, pruning out affected branches can help remove adults before they can reproduce. Another option is to have us come and apply a soil drench insecticide which, when applied early, can help to kill crawlers.

Winter Desiccation

This winter’s cold and dry conditions could have caused some desiccation injury on your evergreens. Damage occurs when evergreens lose more moisture from their needles than what can be replaced by roots from frozen or dry soil. Plant tissue dries out, resulting in brown foliage and dieback, and is usually most severe on the side of the tree that faces the wind or a source of radiated heat.

To help prevent any further damage until spring arrives, place burlap wind screens between plants and prevailing winds or radiated heat sources, You can also apply antidessicants when temperatures are above 40º F, and water evergreens if soils are not frozen and air temperatures are above 45º F.

When spring does arrive, take care when going to prune damaged evergreen tissue, as they should never be pruned past where they have green leaf tissue. While needles may be brown, the buds on the branches may still be viable and eventually open. If the damage is not too severe and twigs are not killed, the area may eventually fill in on its own with proper watering and fertilization.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

A fairly new invasive pest to southeast Nebraska, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB). A little over ½ inch in length, these bugs are shield shaped with marbled or spotted brown backs. What differentiates them from our native stink bugs is their lime green underside.

The main issue with BMSB is their frequent invasion of homes in the fall, when they are looking for places to overwinter. While they do not breed or cause structure damage, they are annoying and can cause off-putting odors in your home. If found inside, simply vacuum them up and dispose of them. Be careful to avoid putting them outside near your garden, fruit trees, or small fruit crops like grapes and raspberries. BMSB have needle-like mouths that siphon the fluids from plants, causing damage to fruits and leaves.

Spotted Lanternfly

A new invasive species to be on the lookout for is the spotted lanternfly. While it has yet to be found in Nebraska, chances are it is only a matter of time before they are here. These insects damage host plants by feeding on sap from stems, leaves, and the trunks of trees, and pose a serious risk to grape, orchard, and logging industries. Affected trees may be found with sap weeping from the wounds caused by the insect’s feeding. The sugary excrement the spotted lanternfly leaves behind may coat the host plant, later encouraging the growth of sooty mold.  Host plants have been described as giving off a fermented odor when this insect is present. It is important to familiarize yourself with what to watch for, and report possible sightings to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, or your local Extension office.

The spotted lanternfly is not a true fly or a moth, but instead a member of the bug family. Adults are 1 inch long and ½ inch wide. The forewing is gray with black spots of varying sizes and the wing tips have black spots outlined in gray. Hind wings have contrasting patches of red and black with a white band. The legs and head are black, and the abdomen is yellow with black bands. Adults, when startled, expose the bright red coloration on their hind wings. When adults are at rest, their gray, spotted color helps them blend in with their surroundings. Early instars (immature stages) are black with white spots. By the last immature stage, the 4th instar, they develop red patches in addition to the black color with white spots. This is the last immature stage before they mature into an adult.

Freshly laid spotted lanternfly egg masses appear as if coated with a white substance. As they age, the egg masses look as if they are coated with gray mud, which eventually takes on a dry/cracked appearance. Very old egg masses may look like rows of 30-50 brown seed-like structures aligned vertically in columns. Common locations for these eggs are Tree of Heavens, bricks, stone, lawn furniture, recreational vehicles, and other smooth surfaces. Egg masses laid on outdoor residential items such as those listed above may pose the greatest threat for spreading this insect via human aided movement.

Bagworm

Now if the time to inspect plants that were affected by bagworms last year. Bags can be removed until the next hatch, which happens around the middle of May. Once bags are removed, destroy the eggs by crushing them or immersing them in soapy water. As many as 500 to 1000 eggs can be contained in one bag, so removing and destroying them can help to significantly reduce this year’s bagworm population.

If you’re ever unsure about whether or not any of your plants are being affected by these issues, we are happy to come out and inspect your plants for. Simply call our office to set up an appointment that works for you.